Samsung Wants To Take A Look At Apple And HTC’s Patent Settlement

In the ongoing patent war between Apple and Samsung, it seems one cannot sneeze without the other taking a strong interest, and with Apple having reached a settlement with Taiwanese rival HTC earlier this week, Samsung is seeking a copy of it.

Both Apple and HTC released press statements on 11th stating the two companies had reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a ten-year license agreement. On the back of that, Samsung has pleaded with the courts to force Apple to share a copy of its HTC settlement, stating its contents are "highly relevant" to the Cupertino company’s request to block sales of Samsung Galaxy devices.

Samsung’s investigative nous has concluded the Apple-HTC settlement includes patents currently disputed in its own litigation with the iPhone maker. In fact, it is "almost certain" the outcome of the settlement bears relevance on pending court disputes with Apple, and having filed the request on Friday in federal court in San Jose, California, will hope to unearth further details as to how Apple and HTC called a truce.

Apple maintains that its courtroom beef with Korean giant Samsung cannot be concluded without license payments, but the settlement with HTC, according to the filing, could undermine that notion. The filing states:

As we know, Apple has already been granted a whopping $1.05 billion in patent damages after a grueling hearing San Jose drew a conclusion in August, and it would seem as though Samsung feels Apple wants to continue grabbing as much cash as possible. Judge Lucy Koh adjourned until December in order to decide whether a U.S. sales ban on eight Samsung smartphones – as well as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 – should be put into effect.

Apple had gone after HTC in much the same manner as it as Samsung – claiming the One X maker had copied some of the iPhone’s quirks for its own line of products. With HTC having sorted things out and now concentrating on "innovation, rather than litigation," Samsung has every right to ask the question, and it will be interesting to see whether Apple will be forced to turn over a copy of the November 10th settlement.